Keep Your Heart Close to the Ground
by Miss Yvonne Hartman
Summary: Sequel to "When I Hit the Ground": Lutessa's perfect life is about to be derailed… LuTollie


Keep Your Heart Close to the Ground

Sequel to "When I Hit the Ground": Lutessa's perfect life is about to be derailed… LuTollie

AN: All my thanks and love to Nightlife Eyes!

Title is taken from "Soldier On" by the Temper Trap.

I don't own Smallville

* * *

_Can we climb this mountain,  
I don't know.  
Higher now than ever before.  
I know we can make it if we take it slow  
Let's take it easy, easy now  
Watch it go_

_We're burning down the highway skyline_  
_On the back of a hurricane_  
_That started turning_  
_When you were young_  
_When you were young_

_And sometimes you close your eyes_  
_And see the place where you used to live_

The Killers, _When You Were Young_

Oliver Queen strode through the lobby of Queen Towers, waving at the receptionists behind the marble counter and boarded the elevator, hitting the button for the fifty-ninth floor. He slicked his hair back, watching as it stubbornly refused to do anything but hang over his brown eyes. He adjusted his school blazer slightly as the doors opened and he looked around the entrance, grinning as he watched the gorgeous red head switch phone lines and jot down a message, her pink tongue darting over her plump lower lip. She glanced up, sensing his presence and grinned. Oliver fell a little more in love with Lutessa as her whole face lit up to see him.

"Hi." She smiled as she hung up the phone.

"Hey, Lu." He grinned back, leaning over the expanse of her desk to kiss her forehead and playfully muss up the fringe of her newly chopped pixie hairstyle.

"Do you like it?" she asked, smoothing it back into place.

"Love it." He reassured her. Oliver occasionally missed the near waist length red curls that tumbled down her back and flew in ribbons around her face, but Lutessa was trying hard to cast off everything that tied her to her past as a Luthor. Her hair was one of them. And either way she was still the prettiest girl in Metropolis.

"Is my father in?" he asked, drawing back and fiddling with the cup of pens and pencils.

Lutessa looked to the closed office door behind her. "He's in a meeting. Shouldn't be too much longer, if you'd like to take a seat, Mr Queen, I'll let him know you're here." Her eyes teased. Lutessa was loving her new job at Queen Industries. Oliver had antipicated that he might have to wrench his father's arm to get Lu the job, but in the end her own natural charm outshone him, Robert Queen was taken by his son's girlfriend, while she wasn't qualified and had never worked a day in her life, she was clever and loyal and seemed stable enough. As a Luthor she was groomed for a life of fabulous idleness. She was supposed to marry someone rich and boring and do nothing but host charity balls and sit quietly. It was a lifestyle she was most opposed too and so the work as a personal assistant was fast paced and interesting. The pay wasn't too bad either and after forcibly getting Oliver to let her chip in with rent, Lutessa had little else to do but spend her money on shoes and books and their dream holiday – a four week extravaganza of Paris, Rome, Athens, Santorini and Barcelona.

"I'm glad you're happy." Oliver said, taking a seat on the couch opposite her and watching as she tried to concentrate on typing a series of letters. Her green eyes kept darting back and forth at him. He wouldn't stop smiling.

"Ugh. Stick your face behind a magazine or something! I'm trying to work!" she declaimed, chucking a financial paper at his head, and they laughed as he dodged her well-aimed throw.

"Lutessa!" she cringed and spun in her seat as the door behind her opened, revealing her employer, Robert Queen.

"Oliver's here to see you, Sir." Lutessa didn't miss a beat, standing up and smiling.

Robert's eyes, a match for Oliver's, met his son's. "Hi dad."

"Son." He acknowledged. Lutessa swallowed, the temperature in the office feeling like it was dropping rapidly.

"Can I get you gentlemen coffee? Water? A coke, Oliver?" she said, trying to diffuse the tension and disappeared into the kitchenette to make coffees. She was waiting for the kettle to finish boiling when she felt him slip in behind her and hug her tightly against him, burying his face in the short hair at her neck.

"Lu. Don't make me go back out there." He mumbled, turning her around and catching her mouth in a devastating kiss, drawing his tongue over hers. She gripped him as her legs almost gave out underneath her and braced herself against the Formica bench.

"Oliver." She gasped. "You made the appointment to see him."

"I know, it was a bad idea."

He stopped her words with his lips. "No. Not here." She said in between kisses. "Wait." She pushed him back, taking in his swollen lips and pleading eyes. She felt a wave of lust crash through her stomach and kissed him, sliding her hands up under the shirt of his school uniform, feeling muscles flex under her hands. The kettle clicked and hissed. "Ok. Ok stop. I can't. I want to. But I can't."

"I want you too." He said, his broad palm under her shirt. "Come on, babe."

"No." she said firmly, pushing him off her and picking up the kettle to make the coffee. Her hands were shaking badly. "When I get home. I promise. Now get back in there."

"I'll hold you to that. You, Me, Kitchen bench." He squeezed her bottom and backed away reluctantly. Lutessa took a few deep breaths, trying to calm herself and pawed at her cheeks in a failing attempt to dispel the glowing blush. She grabbed the two coffee mugs and quickly set them down in front of the two men, keeping her head down and getting out of the office before she could look at Oliver and go crazy again. "Thank you, my dear." Robert said softly as she backed out of the room.

The phone was ringing and answering it was a welcome distraction. Lutessa refocused and picked up. "Queen Industries, Tess speaking."

"So my daughter is sleeping with the enemy in more ways than one." Said the fluid, snakelike voice down the line. Lutessa's blood froze, her throat closed up and she struggled to draw breath. "Tell me, my dear, how do you find work? I am amazed that someone as wholly incompetent as you can be a _personal assistant_ to Robert Queen."

She shook herself out of the spell she was trapped in and spoke, amazed at the clear coldness in her voice. "You're no father of mine and I am currently at work and unable to play your games. Is there any way I may assist you before I hang up this phone?"

Her blood pounded in her ears. There was a long pause and then, "Lutessa, I think I may have suffered an error in judgement. I was wondering if, my dear, you would consent to have tea with me tomorrow afternoon at the mansion."

From his tone she knew it wasn't a friendly request but an order, and her overactive imagination gave her a flash montage of herself drinking earl grey tea laced with arsenic and Oliver finding her dead on the Abusson rug. "I'm sorry I can't accept your invitation, Sir." She has called her father Sir for years and even though she tries not to, the power he still holds makes her voice crack on the 'Sir'.

"We have much to discuss, Lutessa, you are still my daughter and you will still do as I tell you. To some extent." He replied icily.

She whistled a breath of frustration. Tomorrow was Saturday so she didn't have the luxury of using work as an excuse. "I will see if my day permits me any time to visit you. Good bye." She slammed the phone down and sat in her chair in shock. What interest could Lionel Luthor have in her future. He, the man who threw her out of the house and then cancelled her enrolment at Metropolis' private girls college in a humiliating and degrading way. She remembered with a hot rush of shame how she was called to the principal's office and informed of her termination. Having to clear her locker out while Sophie, her dearest friend, pleaded with her to not leave and fight for her place with a scholarship, and at the same time criticise her new romance with Oliver Queen. Sophie was a dichotomy of rich bitch and dear soul, as if split personalities fought inside her, making her volatile and only kept in Lutessa's acquaintance because they were literally the last two left after all the stupid girls in their year had formed cliques and duos of friendship.

Lutessa ran a hand through her cropped hair and grabbed the key to the bathroom and her bag, slipping out of the office and into the ladies. She leant against the sink, splashed water on her face and reapplied her lipstick, glad that she hadn't been wearing enough for Oliver's kisses to smear red carnivorously over her face.

When she was calm and presentable again, Lutessa let herself back into the office, relieved that the Queens were still in their meeting and the phone was silent. She absently typed out the letter without even looking at the keyboard, trying to decide if visiting her father was a good idea. She couldn't think what they would even have to say to each other. She wants, suddenly and so desperately, to be held in his arms again. The little, six year old Lutessa deep inside her wanted to be held by him. To breathe in deep the scent of his cologne and sit on his knee with her head against his shoulder, the way she did when she young.

Lutessa, three months shy of eighteen, drew herself out of the reverie and scanned incoming emails without taking in a single word. He had thrown her out. He had ignored her and humiliated her and she wouldn't go back into the lion's den so easily. She was only ever going to feel as worthless as she would make herself feel, not him, he couldn't control her anymore.

And with that in mind she continued working steadily through her letters and managing the dear but scattered Robert Queen.

XxX

Somehow Lutessa managed to beat Oliver home, even though he had been out of the office an hour before her. She took of her coat and shoes, slinging them over the couch and went into the kitchen, the back of her calves protesting the sudden drop to flat ground. She stretched, made coffee and tried to envision a meal out of the random items in their fridge. She rang his phone but received only his voicemail. Unsure of when Oliver was planning his return, she decided to cook something for dinner, putting his plate in the microwave and eating alone, texting back and forth with Lois Lane. Lutessa had never imagined how lonely it could be sometimes. After dinner she drifted around the apartment, trying on all the shoes in her expansive collection and eating maraschino cherries out of the jar, arching her toes and switching between first and fifth position. She put Stevie Nicks on the CD player, turning up the volume. By the time Oliver did walk through the doors, he found Lutessa had moved the coffee table and was dancing en pointe, she brightened when she saw him watching, and twirled towards him, one long hand catching a vase by mistake and knocking it off the table. Oliver caught it deftly.

"Sorry!" Lutessa exclaimed at her clumsiness, taking back the vase and replacing it on the counter.

"Hey."

"Where were you?"

Oliver shrugged, "ran into some friends, we went to the pub for a drink. One drink!" he added defensively. Lutessa just shrugged, her expression guarded. He crossed the room and shut the music off.

"I was listening to that!" she snapped. "It's Stevie Nicks!" she continued when Oliver just rolled his eyes.

"What's for dinner? And I didn't know you could dance."

"I've been neglecting my ballet." She answered with a huff, going to the microwave and heating his plate, "I might see if Madame Dupont would tutor me privately. But I'm a bit concerned about her fee." She laughed derisively, "I hate to admit it, but life was a tad sweeter on _daddy's_ money. Fending for myself is… a new experience."

Oliver kissed her mouth sweetly, making her annoyance at losing Stevie Nicks in the middle of _Edge of Seventeen, _dissipate slightly. Tess rarely made mention of her Luthor heritage these days and she definitely didn't like to talk about where all her money went. He grinned, putting his hands on either side of her rib cage and lifting her up. She bent her leg, extended the other and laughed as Oliver flew her through the air. She spun in his arms, calf against his shoulder, they fell against the wall and she pinned him there with a hot kiss. She really wanted to lose herself in the kiss, but the experience of the day was like ice water down her back and she slowly pulled away, extracting herself from his arms.

"Lulu?"

"What have I told you about calling me that?" she muttered darkly. "I'm sorry, Oliver. I'm just… not really in the mood." She moved away, irritated as he pouted at her, she could see the whingeing about to start.

"You promised."

"Oh Fuck Oliver, you work all day and then come home to an empty house, and cook and tidy up and wait around for you to waltz in and then you see how enthusiastic you are to have your head slammed repeatedly against the wall." She snarled, her green eyes flashing dangerous. He was such a fucking child sometimes. Lutessa went to their bedroom and grumbled to herself while Oliver sulked in front of the television. Let him mope all night, she thought, what do I fucking care. She stripped off her clothes, had a shower and got into bed, not wanting to think about Lionel and the decisions about her future to make.

She couldn't sleep but heard Oliver come in after a short time, he was watching her in the doorway for a bit before getting undressed and sliding in beside her. "Lu, I'm sorry." He said, "and I know you're awake so quit fooling."

"Oliver." She whispered, feeling his arms slip around to embrace her, his lips against her temple. "I'm sorry. My afternoon was going great until it wasn't. I'm just so worked up."

"Over what?" he pressed and they lay in the dark silence for a minute.

"Lionel phoned. He wants me to have tea with him tomorrow, says we need to talk. I haven't had a father daughter chat for years and the one time I thought he might finally acknowledge me he threw me out of the house." She paused to sniff back tears. "I was so fucking stupid. I thought, I really thought, he was going to tell me he was proud of me. The week before I was top of the form in Science, I was going to get an Academic Achievement award for it and I knew the letter had been sent out. It was my birthday, he said something about a party and… I had this little fantasy in my head of him telling me he loved me, telling all of his friends and colleagues about me. I only ever wanted him to be proud of me."

"Lu, baby," Oliver pulled her to face him, pulling her as close into his arms as he could, like they might become one. He kissed her. "You are wonderful. You are beautiful and smart and kind. You don't need him to tell you something the world already knows." He kissed her eyelids, feeling the moisture of her tears against his lower lip.

"I love you." she mumbled, it was still thrilling and scary to admit it, to the ocean of feeling she had for this one man. He kissed her, long and hard, his lips blazed against hers, igniting flickers of heat in her belly.

"And listen, maybe you should see him." She opened her eyes wide, "I mean. He's still your father. I'll go with you as back up if you want."

Lutessa brushed her hand through his hair. "I don't know… what if Clark is there, Oliver? I don't think I could face him… not after… it's a wonder he hasn't come after me here, but I did suspect Lionel might have forbidden him or something. He's a douchebag but he still does what _daddy_ says."

"I'll keep you safe. I won't let him touch you." Oliver promised vehemently, pulling her underneath him and kissing her mouth.

"Ok." She agreed reluctantly, "we'll go tomorrow afternoon and…" his kisses were distracting, sparking a warmth in her body. "Oliver… Oliver." She breathed between kisses, his hand between her legs, seeking, her own hands exploring his groin. They gasped. Cried. Laughed. She grinned, shoving him so she was above, spiralling in the friction as she moved against him. Her smirk became a sparkling smile as she bent her head to kiss him, trail her lips down his chest. Her body pulsed with lust, Oliver was saying something she couldn't hear, grabbing for her and catching her in a shattering kiss, rolling over her, pulling her with him as they landed on the floor, laughing their heads off.

"Do you want me to come in with you?" Oliver asked, staring past Lutessa at the castle. In the daylight it looked less imposing, less haunting. "Lu?" she was white as a sheet and her lips, bloodless beneath the artificial blush of lipstick, moved wordlessly.

"I think I'll be ok." She whispered. Looking back at him she smiled nervously, "Oliver, if I scream, come running." She kissed him swiftly then gave him a hopeless look, "Aw. You now have 'Dish it Up' coloured lips, Oliver." She thumbed at the pale purple stain on his mouth. "see ya in a bit."

Lutessa stepped out of the car, smoothing her skirt down and walking to the front door, the gravel crunching under her heels. "Hello Miss Luthor."

"Hello Lurch." She grinned amicably at the butler, using the nickname Alexander and she had for him. She missed Lex with a sudden force it nearly took her breath away. She wondered if she would have time late to go and take flowers to his grave. She knew who to blame for her brother's death. She knew who had ripped her into pieces by taking him away. Lurch directed her to the south drawing room, which had been Lutessa's favourite room when she lived there.

She walked through the mansion like she was swimming underwater. The sunlight outside didn't reach past the doorstep and everything looked odd in the blue light. She heard a snatch of a song playing somewhere in the depths of the house and was flashing back to being eight years old. She was wearing a pale blue dress, standing on Lionel's toes as he danced her around the room and called her princess.

Two weeks later he had adopted Clark and forgotten all about her. It had been Lex then who had danced with her, Lex was the only one who ever paid her any attention. Lex had loved her.

She pushed the memory away. She was almost eighteen now, it had been a long time since she had been called darling by her father. Lutessa wished she had Oliver with her for protection in the echoing hallways until she found the south drawing room and stepped in. Lionel was sitting in the wing chair beside the fire place.

She cleared her throat to announce her presence and Lionel turned, his cool grey eyes meeting hers. It was strange, as he stood up and walked towards her, he seemed smaller, somewhat, less like a lion sizing up its prey and just an aging man. His grizzled hair and face, lined heavily and pockmarked from youth, didn't seem so harsh now that she was a year older and a bit wiser.

"Lutessa." He looked her over, like he was examining an artwork, his brilliant, warped mind ticking away. "Please have a seat." He gestured to the two arm chairs and the coffee table laden with tea pot and biscuits. "You look… well."

"Thanks." Lutessa said, perching on the edge of her seat, not ready to let her guard down as he poured tea for them both. She watched him drink, not touching her own.

"Honestly child, it's not poisoned. Clearly you are waiting for my reaction." He swallowed theatrically. "See. I am not dying."

Lutessa shrugged, taking a sip of ordinary Earl Grey tea, "You could have been building up an immunity for years." She muttered and regretted her attitude. "I'm sorry. Thank you, for the tea."

Oh her damned Luthor manners. To stare the snake in the face, and still remember to thank him. He raised her well, too well. She wishes she could remember her mother. A snatch of a smile, pudgy baby hands reaching out and closing on a rope of pearl necklace, _Lulu, look at mummy, Lulu_.

"Have you been well?" Lionel was asking and Lutessa nodded.

"I have a job. You knew that already." She added dispassionately. "So, Lionel. Why am I here?"

There was a pause and Lutessa took a biscuit, watching Lionel closely. "Lutessa, I may have made an… error in judgement, in asking you to leave." He said eventually. A tense moment passed, Lutessa clutching at the biscuit hard enough to snap it in two.

"Asking? You didn't ask, you don't ask anything. You dictate. You _told_ me to leave. You kicked me out!" her words rang around the room. "I tried so hard to get you to notice me, to be proud of me and you never did. It took me way too long to work out that you weren't worth it."

"Tess!" he rarely used her shortened name, and it was only ever in that flat, sharp tone that indicated his displeasure with her. She wondered if he was about to launch over and slap her across the face. "Lutessa, my child, I wanted to have this discussion with you because… and you will scoff, but I care about your future." As predicted, she rolled her green eyes. "I want to know what you plan to do, Lutessa, when your incompetence gets you fired, your good looks fade and your Mr Queen gets bored with you. Have you planned for that?"

She laughed hollowly, "what should you care? Why is any of that your concern?"

"Because I am your father."

"I think you relinquished that role when you threw me out. I am free, I have been free for the first time in my life, Lionel and yeah, maybe I don't know what tomorrow is going to bring but for now I have a job and a home and I have a great guy that loves me." She explained, "I don't expect you to understand, you're not capable of anything beyond power and greed, but I have a million tomorrows. I can always get another job, another man even, but I don't want to leave Oliver. My world is limitless." Her eyes shone and she smiled a little, looking down at her Jimmy Choos, and then back at Lionel, with a trace of pity, "What do you have, Lionel?"

He stepped close she could smell his cologne and breath and refused to let herself shrink away. "I have plenty. And believe me Lutessa, you will never be free. It will always be in your blood. You will always be a Luthor."

"Keep telling yourself that." She hissed, standing up. Her heart was pounding in her chest but she felt strong, powerful. "This has been very illuminating, but I'm not a child anymore."

"Lutessa." He called as she reached the door. She looked back, in the afternoon light he looked like a little old man again, she wasn't afraid of him. "There is one last thing."

XxX

Lutessa stepped out of the mansion, her head buzzing, and was greeted by Oliver and Clark brawling across the gravel driveway.

"Oliver!" she screamed, unable to determine whose punch was whose, the two men scrabbling in the dirt. "Oliver! Clark! No, I don't want this!" she tried to break the fight up but was shoved out of the way by Clark.

"Oh look, my sister the tramp. Nice of you to join us." Clark spat, straightening his shirt.

"Lionel's inside you know." She replied coolly, satisfied at the flicker that crossed Clark's face.

"I'm warning you, Luthor!" Oliver snarled, grabbing Clark by the shirt collar, "You stay the Hell away from my girl! You hear me! You don't touch her!"

He shoved Clark and, with a nasty look at the two of them, he super sped back into the mansion. Oliver crumpled a little in exhaustion and looked at Lutessa. "Hi babe." He gave her a smile full of blood and teeth. She shook her head and dusted him off a little.

"Words fail me."

"'My hero' could be a way to start!" he tried to hug her and she playfully cringed, saying 'you're all bloody". "Always said I'd protect you, Tess."

She kissed his bruising cheek. "Let's go home." And folded herself into the red sports car. Lutessa was quiet on the drive home. She slipped her hand into Oliver's and shut her eyes, not answering any of his questions. She let the world zip past the windows, letting herself drift until they were safe in their apartment and she looked up at Oliver. He smiled cautiously, worried at her silence. "Are you ok, babe?"

She nodded and stepped into his arms, burying her face against his chest and staying there, silently, for a long time. Until she felt clean and renewed and herself again. Oliver left her to make tea and a bit of lunch while he went and showered and washed the blood properly out of his mouth.

"So come on," said Oliver when he returned, his hair damp from the shower, pulling her to sit on the couch, "tell me what he said."

Lutessa shrugged, pulling her bag towards her. "Somewhere in the bottomless bag of wonders I have… my gag order!" she proclaimed, extracting a thick wad of paper.

"Gag order?" he echoed. "What's he paying you?"

"If I sign that then I get 15 million to keep my mouth shut." She said thoughtfully. "Fifteen million, Oliver!"

"How much would the papers want to an insider story on Metropolis' version of the Borgia family?" he asked. Tess shrugged.

"I'm worried if I do that then I might end up at the bottom of a river for good. Some of the conditions involve changing my surname and, I mean he's already cancelled my schooling but I… I have to leave Metropolis." She finished sadly, her eyes downcast. "If I sign this then… I have to go away. And I… I don't want to leave you."

"Come here." Oliver pulled her into his arms, her face pressed tightly to his shoulder. "You don't have to leave."

"If I don't sign it we'll all be dead, and if I do then… he'll have won, won't he? He'll own my silence."

"So let him. He can't control you beyond that."

"He's trying to tear us apart. That's what he does."

"Yeah? Well he overlooked one thing. And you have too." Oliver smiled down at her, "I'll go with you." She raised her green eyes, scanning his handsome face and slowly smiling. She stood on her toes and kissed him deeply, her hand in his hair, his on her lower back. "We can leave this place."

"And go where? Give me a destination!"

"Destination? Who cares, we can go wherever the hell we want! London."

She raised her eyebrows, "And after that?"

He shook his head, "Rome, Paris, Athens, St Petersburg."

"And after that. And after the money is gone? And after we're cold and starving and I'm not beautiful anymore. Where to after all that?" her eyes were betraying her, welling up with tears and Oliver pulled her in and held her, his face against her hair.

"Is that what you're afraid of?"

Suddenly all her fighting words, everything she told Lionel, seemed small and fragile. She felt like the world was suddenly too large, too scary. Oliver's hand covered hers, lacing their fingers together.

"I'm afraid of not having a plan." She said shakily, admitting the things she hadn't wanted to admit. "Before this I had a plan. I love working for your dad, I love this apartment and Lois and just being with you. You drive me crazy but I love you." she kissed him. "And now my dishonourable father has derailed all my plans. And you don't get it. I want a future, Oliver. I want a house! A real home." She took a deep breath, closing her eyes to compose herself again, "and you have responsibilities here, Oliver – what about your family and your education?"

"Screw them all, Lulu! I don't care about any of it if I don't have you. Sign it and tomorrow we leave for Australia! You can get married at eighteen there so we only have to wait a few months and that's that." Oliver was grinning more broadly now. "You and me, a huge house, bigger than anything we'd get here! Just you and me."

"Ok, are you stoned?" she gaped at him, incredulously. But a smile was tugging her lips. "Married?"

"Why not?" he grinned at her.

She blinked, considering. "Well… yeah… why not… we're too young."

"And what you're going to break up with me in the next five minutes? A year, ten years, what difference would it make?" he put his mouth close to hers, exhaling cool breath over her lips and smiling at the flutter in her eyelashes. "Lu, Lu, marry me. Make me listen to Stevie Nicks for the rest of my life!"

"Australia, huh?" She grinned and kissed him, "well sure I'll marry you Oliver!" they laughed. "Just one thing left then…" she grabbed a pen from her bag and leant across Oliver's lap, scrawling her signature over the bottom of the paper. Oliver and Lutessa held each other close and smiled in the bright afternoon light.

XxX

Lionel Luthor couldn't bear the boring party held in the function room of an upmarket Metropolis hotel. He tugged at his bow tie and looked down at the tiny but enthusiastic blonde who was flirting shamelessly. She would be easy but there was something about her determined attitude and the sharpness in her hazel eyes that reminded him uncomfortably of equal parts nosy journalist and his daughter.

He left her mid-monologue and approached Robert Queen, the host of the party, in order to make his good byes to escape.

"Ah, Lionel, have a drink." Robert shook his hand firmly and indicated the empty seat. A whiskey was placed in front of him by a near invisible waiter and he was obliged to take the seat. "I've been meaning to chat with you all evening. You see a sparky red head came into my office this morning with a rather interesting announcement."

"By sparky red head I assume you mean my daughter, Lutessa?" Lionel clarified morosely. "I trust she's not making herself a burden for you."

"Not at all, she's a remarkable young lady. One who I am most happy to have as a daughter-in-law."

Lionel very nearly spat his whiskey across the table in shock. "I was… unaware that any wedding plans were made." He said guardedly, thinking rapidly. Across the room, Clark was charming the blond girl. He shook his head, what he had ever done to be cursed with such unbearable, uncontrollable children.

"She handed in her resignation and asked me to deliver this to you." Robert continued conversationally, taking a dossier out of his inside pocket and sliding it towards Lionel. "I've assured her there will be no problem with you keeping your side of the deal, since she has agreed to hers." Lionel scanned the paper with fury, Lutessa's signature splashed across the page. He was now fifteen million dollars and one daughter poorer. With a gruff acknowledgment at Robert Queen, he stood up, taking the contract and collecting Clark. The blond was looking severely disappointed. Lionel narrowed his eyes and left the ballroom.

_Fin_


End file.
